Experience & lesson learned in getting a DONE4 ex JNB ticketed with Australian CC
Experience and lessons learned in getting a DONE 4 ex JNB ticketed
I created an itinerary ex JNB using the oneworld planning tool - Business class for 2 pax
JNB x LHR - MRS x LHR - DUB - CLT x DFW - PHX - STL x PHL- LAX - MEL - CNS - SYD - NOU - SYD - JNB
and booked it online. Price quoted on booking 152,942.45 ZAR (9,166.14 USD) or USD 4,583.07 per person.
Instructions were given to ring British Airways (BA) in South Africa (SA) to pay for ticket. The call centre is actually in India but appears to operate on SA time. I called a number of times and was put on hold for ages or told they would ring back etc. This meant I had to wait up till 3am MELB time. Eventually I asked for an email contact for the agent so I could deal with the same person. This made it soooo much easier as I could check progress by email.
As it turns out the online tool price needs to be revalidated by another section and this process can take and did take many days. The agent I was dealing with also got frustrated with the time being taken and decided to recreate the itinerary herself as it then only takes less than an hour to price and ticket.
She phoned me to check various details, emailed an itinerary for checking with a lower cost (ZAR 150326.46 for 2 pax) and then took credit card details. Next morning my electronic ticket was waiting and my credit card showed a transaction of AUD 13127.76, or $6563.88 per person for the 16 business class sectors. This included any bank charges.
Lessons learned
1. Although the planner tool has bugs (eg you no longer can select Qantas connect flights to NZ) I have always been able to create a successful itinerary that suits my needs. Save a copy of itinerary that you have priced
2. Do not book on line but ring BA in SA. Ask if you can have the agent's email address so you can deal with them directly and post them your desired itinerary. If they are not prepared to give you their email address or you have any difficulties with language wait and try again a few hours later for another agent
3. Check progress by email.
4. Be prepared for very late phone calls and give really positive feedback even if you are getting frustrated and hate 2am phone calls
5. I always pre notify my bank of an imminent large rand transaction. I do not use Amex but MasterCard due to previous problems with seller limits with Amex
This is our 6th ticket ex JNB and it only required one positioning trip as the last leg of a ticket always gets us back to restart the next. The process we have used for payment to either AA or BA has changed frequently in this time. I believe that AA no longer accept non-SA credit cards.
Advantages of RTW ticket from SA
1. Price, unbelievably cheap for 16 segments in business, less than half the cost ex Australia
2. We are able to break it into 3 holidays, this year our major overseas plus a break in Cairns and another in Noumea
3. The journey can be configured with all travel westwards, our preferred direction
4. South Africa works just like an Asian or Middle East stopover or spend some time there on a safari
5. Have always earned more than enough from these flights to qualify as Qantas platinum particularly as all USA flights are allocated to first class.
6. Date and time changes can be made relatively easily and free of charge (though allow a good half hour or more on the phone) by ringing British Airways
7. Last year I rang Qantas to check on availability of flights once I was back in Australia. As all the remaining flights were with Qantas they kindly made the date changes and reissued the ticket
Sorry for the long post but hope it may help someone
I have very much appreciated things I have learned from this forum
